Mountains

The Mountains are a survival check before they are a combat one. Snowy peaks high above the rest of the map, beautiful and lethal, where the cold itself kills you. Without Frost Resistance you take constant freezing damage that drains health and stamina, so the biome gates itself: you cannot mine silver if you cannot stand on the peak. Solve the cold first, then the silver, the wolves, and the Dragon Eggs follow, and at the top waits Moder.

What lives here

Wolves hunt in packs and hit hard, fast, and from multiple angles, the main melee threat. Drakes fly overhead and spit ranged frost. Stone Golems are slow but brutal and can shatter you in one combo if you are careless. At night Fenrings come out, and Cultists guard the frost caves. The cold compounds all of it: a fight you could win warm becomes a death spiral once freezing eats your stamina.

Do not climb a peak without Frost Resistance. A frost resist mead, a Lox cape, or the Wolf armor set each handle the cold; without one you take freezing damage that drains health and stamina continuously and turns every fight against you. Brew the mead before you go.

What you gather

Silver is the headline metal, buried in deep veins you locate with the Wishbone from Bonemass. The Wishbone pings the silver under the snow, and you dig down to it with a pickaxe and smelt it in a Smelter. The peaks also give Obsidian and Crystal, Wolf pelts, fangs, and trophies for the Wolf armor and arrows, Onion seeds from caves, and the Dragon Eggs you need to summon the boss. Frost caves hold Fenring dens with Red Jute and Fenring trophies. As with all metal, silver sails home: you cannot portal it.

Beating the cold and the climb

The Mountains reward patience. Set a forward base with a fire below the snow line, keep the Rested buff, and re-drink frost mead on cooldown. Silver buys the silver gear tier and, with Wolf materials, the cold-proof Wolf armor that lets you drop the mead entirely. Bring frost-resistant food and a bow: Drakes and Dragon Eggs both reward ranged play, and the eggs are heavy.

Beating Moder

Moder is an ice dragon, summoned at her altar with 3 Dragon Eggs. The eggs are very heavy and sit in stone nests up on the peaks, so hauling three to the altar is part of the challenge, and the Megingjord belt helps. The fight is mostly ranged: Moder takes flight and rains frost projectiles, then lands for breath and melee attacks you can punish. Use fire arrows, take cover from the aerial barrage, and punish hard when she lands.

Killing Moder drops the Dragon Tear, which builds the Artisan Table, and that table is the gate to the Blast Furnace, Windmill, and Spinning Wheel you need for the Plains economy. Hang the Moder trophy on the Sacrificial Stones for her Forsaken Power: a permanent tailwind for boats, so you sail any direction without tacking. It transforms ocean travel for the rest of the run.

When to move on

You are ready for the Plains when you have silver gear, ideally the Wolf armor, the Dragon Tear and an Artisan Table at base, and respect for what is coming. The Plains look like gentle golden grassland and are one of the deadliest biomes in the game. A Deathsquito can one-shot an under-geared player, so do not wander in until you can take a hit.

Related: the Moder boss guide, the Swamp behind you, and the full-run progression cheatsheet.